Page 40 of Bound to Exiles (Rejected Wolf Pack #5)

Freya

The evening air had cooled considerably by the time Zak returned to camp.

I watched him trudge toward his tent, shoulders slumped, his usually vibrant energy dimmed to a flicker.

He looked bone-weary, his face drawn with exhaustion and something deeper — disappointment, maybe even fear.

As usual, he kept his emotions locked out of the bond.

I approached him before he could disappear into his tent. “Zak? Are you okay?”

He turned, summoning a weak smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Just tired.”

My heart squeezed at the sight. After what we’d shared earlier today — the intensity, the connection, the way he’d brought us all together — seeing him so depleted felt wrong.

“Would you like to sleep in my tent tonight?”

The words left my mouth before I’d fully thought them through, but I didn’t regret them.

“Just sleep,” I clarified. “You look like you could use the company.”

His expression brightened slightly, some of the tension easing from his face. Then his gaze shifted over my shoulder, and I turned to see Gage watching us, his arms crossed over his chest. I could feel the mix of emotions flowing through our mate bond — concern, possessiveness, and acceptance.

“If that’s okay with you,” Zak said to Gage, his tone careful.

Gage’s jaw tightened briefly before he shrugged.

“Freya chooses her own bed partners, not me.” His voice was gruff but not unkind.

I loved him for trying, for working through his instincts to accept what was happening between us all. Through our mate bond, I sent him a wave of appreciation and affection.

“I’d be happy to just sleep and cuddle,” Zak assured us both, though his eyes stayed on Gage, still seeking approval despite the alpha’s words.

I held out my hand. “Come on.”

Zak took my hand, and I led him toward my tent, aware of Gage’s gaze following us. The weight of it wasn’t threatening, just watchful and protective in a way that warmed me.

Before we made it inside, a familiar presence brushed against my consciousness through the pack bond. Rowan’s mental voice reached all of us through the Bonded link, tense with barely controlled anger.

“I’ve got eyes on Frost Fang,” he growled. “And you’re not going to like what I’m seeing.”

Gage’s eyes snapped to mine as his attention sharpened. “Report.”

“Heath’s father is here. Dryden’s meeting with Fern and her ‘beta council’.”

Heath’s fury exploded through our mate bond, so violent it made me tense up, and Zak squeezed my hand in reassurance.

“That bastard,” Heath snarled into our minds. “He’s manipulating them.”

“But that’s not the worst part.” Rowan’s disgust bled through. “There are witches nearby. At least three that I’ve spotted, and the air reeks of magic.”

“After all their protests about Freya and Zak being mages…” Gage’s voice was deadly quiet, “they better not welcome a coven onto packlands.”

“We’ll find out soon enough,” Rowan said grimly. “I’ll figure out what’s happening, but I wanted you to know.”

Rowan withdrew, clearly pulling his curtains closed so he could concentrate on his surroundings, leaving us all processing this betrayal.

Zak frowned. “I’m sorry,” he said into the Bonded link, leaving Rowan out of it. “I know how much Frost Fang meant to you all.”

Heath’s rumbling growl came through as he shifted into wolf form to go for a run. “My father always was a manipulative piece of shit. I should have seen this coming. He always said he’d return to Frost Fang one day.”

Gage stepped closer to us as he answered Heath, “I’ll come run with you.”

“Good idea,” I said out loud.

As Zak ducked inside the tent, I held back, my gaze lingering on Gage. After tucking my hair behind my ear, his knuckles found their way under my chin like always. He tilted my face, running his thumb over my lips.

“Do what you want with him, princess,” Gage said in a rough voice that did naughty things to me. “It’s not my place to tell you what to do with your mates.”

I smiled, meeting Gage’s eyes like I knew he appreciated.

“I know, but thank you for saying so,” I said softly, infusing the words with genuine appreciation.

I knew how difficult this was for him — sharing me, navigating the complex bonds forming between us all, accepting Zak in spite of him not yet belonging to the pack.

Gage had come so far from the angry, closed-off alpha who’d first struck that deal with me that had seemed so terrible at first. Yet that bargain had bound us all together, ultimately forging us into the pack we were today.

Gage nodded once, his expression softening slightly before he leaned in and kissed me. He went in for the kill, his tongue instantly claiming mine like he was marking his territory. When he released me and I wobbled, his smirk told me he liked seeing the effect he had on me.

He sauntered off to go find Heath as I ducked inside.

Zak’s eyes searched mine, though I wasn’t sure what he was looking for.

Then he gestured to the large mattress resting on a raised collapsible platform. “If I’d known you had a full bed in here, I would have wormed my way into your good graces sooner.”

I laughed and ran a hand over the blankets. “The guys bought this for the trip. Said I deserved better than sleeping on the ground.”

Zak smiled, a real one this time. “They take good care of you.”

“They do.”

I removed my shoes, thinking of all the ways my alphas had shown their love — from Heath’s clothing purchases to Flint’s steady support to Rowan’s wild passion to Gage’s grudging tenderness.

Then I added, “And now you’re part of that ‘they’.”

Zak hesitated, his fingers playing with the hem of his shirt. “I’ll sleep in my boxers, if that’s okay?”

“Is that what you normally do?”

“Yeah.” A hint of his usual mischief returned to his eyes. “Can you imagine my piercings getting caught on the blankets?”

“Ouch. Definitely keep those covered.”

The mental image made me recall the sight of those metal barbells sliding inside Heath earlier today. Heat rushed to my cheeks.

Zak’s grin turned wicked as he caught my blush. “Enjoying the mental replay, are we?”

“Maybe,” I admitted, surprising myself with my boldness. I continued undressing, the moment feeling natural.

I slipped under the blankets first, holding them up for Zak to join me.

“Good,” he said, his voice dropping to that purr that never failed to make my pulse quicken. “I was hoping that performance left an impression.”

He settled beside me, and after a moment of adjustment, I curled against his side, my head resting on his shoulder. I bit my lip, studying his face in the dim light. “It did. On all of us.”

“Mmm.” He pulled me closer into his warmth. “And what kind of impression was that?”

“The kind that makes me want to explore what other talents you’ve been hiding,” I said softly, enjoying the feeling of his nearly naked body against mine at last.

His pupils dilated, and for a moment I thought he might kiss me. Instead, his fingers traced along the edge of my bra, and a question whispered across the Bonded link.

“Will Gage punish you if you sleep with me without this on?”

“Of course not.” Out loud, I added, “I didn’t want to tempt you… I promised you sleep.”

He chuckled. “I’d rather that you get comfortable.”

“Okay, good,” I said, grateful for the excuse to remove the itchy article of clothing.

Before I could sit up to take it off, Zak’s deft fingers unclasped the back, then slid it down my shoulder. I rolled over onto my back, and he pulled it off of my other arm and tossed it on a bench near the tent wall.

My eyes roved over him, my pulse pounding in my ears. Were we really going to just sleep together?

“Patience, beautiful,” he murmured. “I can behave myself, for now. Later… I’ll want to take my time with you. Learn every sound you make, every touch that makes you tremble.”

A shiver ran through me at his words as I slid my arms back around him. “Promises, promises. You’re making me impatient,” I murmured.

“Good,” he said with a soft laugh. “I’d hate to think I was losing my touch.”

As we settled under the blankets, Zak’s arm around me, I became hyperaware of every point of contact between us.

The solid warmth of his chest, the way his breathing gradually synchronized with mine, the careful way he held me — close enough to comfort, but not so tight that I couldn’t roll away.

I reminded my body we were just going to go to sleep , nothing more.

“Do you want to talk about why you came back looking so worried earlier?” I finally asked, needing something to take my mind off all the ways I wanted to explore my new mate’s body.

Zak’s body tensed slightly beneath me. “I tried to bring out my wolf today,” he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. “But it was like… like both sides of me forgot how.” He swallowed audibly. “I’m afraid I’m stuck this way.”

I propped myself up on one elbow to look at him. “Tor, my sixth mate, told me it’s possible for trauma to cause a shifter to be unable to shift.”

“You’ve… talked to him?” Zak asked, his eyes wide.

I smiled. “We’re Odinwolves. We have a few tricks up our sleeves.”

“My amazing Bonded,” Zak smiled, then kissed my forehead. “You will never stop surprising me.”

I returned his smile, then let him feel my worry through the bond. “Do you think trauma is keeping you from unleashing your wolf?”

“That tracks,” Zak said, staring at the tent ceiling. “My wolf has been buried for so long…”

The memory of my own first shift flashed through my mind — the exhilarating freedom, the rush of finally, finally connecting with my wolf. I wanted that so badly for Zak.

“We’ll help you,” I promised, laying my palm on his chest, over his heart. I could feel it beating strong and steady beneath my touch. “If you’ll let us.”

He covered my hand with his. “Yes. But tonight I just want to sleep. I… I wouldn’t survive another failure.” He sighed deeply. “It really took it out of me. I’m not just physically tired…”